Edolas Zero
by Laquoren
Summary: 400 years before the Edolas arc, in a time when Edolas was a world filled with magic… guilds… hunters… and... monsters confined to a lower island area called the "Underworld", Zeref Dragion, the only one not able to use magic, is an outcast labeled as "cursed", but with a new era on the horizon, he's the one who leads his world into the future.


Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the cover image.

* * *

The night was warm with a breeze that blew strong. Edolas' nighttime light sources, we'll just call them moons, were almost completely covered by clouds. To the average eye everything looked black.

Black, obscure, and quiet. Perfect for any unsuspecting person to get eaten, or mauled, or anything else that usually happens in all those horror stories everyone likes to tell.

A hunter sighed, _It's going to be a rough night again, isn't it?_

He could already feel eyes on him. Those same, freaking, red eyes that seemed to follow him wherever he went.

A sigh escaped again while he waited for someone's life-force to disappear. No sane person is foolish enough to think that we'd have a clear night.

 _Shiver._ There it was.

The hunter flew into the air and stealthily went to the edge of a nearby island where the life-force left.

Dark lines covered his arm as he summoned a long, gray whip. He waited.

 _Scratch,_ there it was.

The hunter's body turned black and went into the air like smoke. He appeared above the bird-like creature's head and wrapped the whip around its throat. It struggled, but the whip's hold grew tighter as he made his way to the ground.

Once the creature softened against his grip he knew the deed was done.

 _That was easier than I expected… I usually go down slower…_

The hunter sighed and as his weapon went into smoke and a bright, blue light covered his arm's veins. He felt heavier for a couple of seconds before it disappeared, causing new, itchy feathers to drop.

 _What's going on?_

Suddenly, a foot slammed hard against his chest, pushing him off the island.

 _What….?!_

Time seemed to slow down, barely allowing sight. The only thing the hunter could see were red eyes.

Those red, intelligent eyes.

* * *

Zeref's eyes were red while he worked on his newest creation. The sun was shining bright through the classroom window, which caused him to squint more than he'd like, but nothing would ruin his moment. No one was there.

 _Connect the tylis bark to a stem from the riyon plant… Allows magical connection…_

 _Leave a five-inch opening for lacrima placement…_

 _Cover the edges with malleable steel or any similar material… Prevents magic from escaping…_

A cough came up in his chest.

 _Remember to change the positioning by .02 inches…. I can't forget to change it .02 inches…_

The instructions for the Small Arm sounded like white noise, something so routine that you'd never forget it. Zeref was so used to it that his mind started to drift.

He almost forgot his master plan too. Luckily coughing saved the day.

 _I wonder if this will really work…. Teacher would be so shocked if it did…._

 _….._

 _….._

 _…. Yeah… He would… He would be so shocked…_

He was practically drooling at the thought of its success. He was shivering in giddiness by the time he pulled a small lacrima from his pocket. _This is it!_

All of his hard work would finally pay off.

Zeref could barely contain himself. The lacrima glowed and the creation's long arm started to move on its own. _That's it… Come on… It's supposed to do that…_

He might cry. No, let's be realistic, he _is_ crying.

His eyes felt like they were burning, "Ok, I need to get something to wipe my eyes."

The second he looked down into his pockets to pull out a towel, he heard a crack.

The towel fell to the ground immediately.

 _No…_

The lacrima glowed brighter than it should, way brighter. The crack continued to spread, making the light even worse. Zeref was blind.

Then _boom!_

Zeref opened his eyes to a burnt classroom and a motionless arm at his feet.

" _Why?_..." Was all that managed to seep out of him.

 _Why does this always happen…..?_

The classroom door slammed open, " _Zeref_ _Dragion_ ," Teacher's face was horrid, "How many times do I have to tell you?! _Never_ come back means _never_ come back!"

Zeref was too numb to fully comprehend anything.

 _I failed again…_

Teacher seethed even louder at Zeref's lack of response. He stomped over and grabbed his shirt, lifting him into the air,

"Hey! Are you even listening?!"

Zeref's eyes were beady and cloudy, looking down despite Teacher's shortness.

He groaned, "Wha….?"

Growling Teacher threw him back on the ground, hard. Or at least as hard as he could.

Teacher wasn't the youngest man in the world.

"Ow…" Zeref rubbed his back and looked up at Teacher's eyes.

He went cold. _Oh shoot…._

Zeref grabbed what he could of his Small Arm and ran. Ran past Teacher. Ran past the students. Things will not end well if he doesn't grab. His. Things. And. _Run_.

The unpleasant memories were already coming back to him… Those _horrible_ memories…

 _I'm not going to go through that again._ Zeref's thoughts grew more quick and panicked, _I told myself that I would never go through that again…!_

The sound of Teacher's whip was cracking in the distance, he gulped. His legs were already burning and if he went any faster he was sure he'd trip, but…

Burning or tripping is a much better than the hell he'd go through if he let Teacher catch up…

Huffing by the time he got to the front door, Zeref was surprised that he was able to avoid looking back …and not trip. He sighed, "Natsu's going to want to hear about this later, isn't he?"

"Who said you're going to get 'later'?"

Teacher's aura of death was so strong that Zeref could feel it on his back. A still shiver went up his spine, "Uh… How could you hear me just now, Teacher?"

One look in his cold eyes was enough of an answer. There was no avoiding it.

He was going to go through it again…

* * *

It. Was. Even. More. Horrifying. Than. Last. Time.

Zeref didn't know how it was possible, but Teacher actually managed to sink his whip in so deep that his back bones felt bare. Anything that didn't feel bare was covered in bloody scratches. Along with that, Teacher literally kicked him out with his shoe, right onto the ground outside.

The dirt crept into his wounds, causing them to burn like hell.

Zeref bit his lip trying to hold in the pain. _Ignore it! Just ignore it! The last thing you need right now is attention Zeref!_

The pain quickly changed from a sting to an ache. Every attempt Zeref made to walk resulted in a limp, a very. Obvious. Limp.

 _Arrah!_ _I should be running right now, not limping!_

He forced himself to run, causing sweat to add even more to his pain.

It only took a few seconds of convincing himself the pain wasn't there to realize it wouldn't work. His last hope was not running into someone.

Which was shattered in less than a couple of seconds.

As they fell to the ground, Zeref could feel his will draining out of him, bit by bit, _I'm screwed! I don't want to be seen by them! Their eyes…_

Only adding to his horror, the person was a teenager, not far from his age.

"Ow… Hey watch wha-" his eyes got small, "Y-you…"

He looked at his hands, speaking to himself, "I touched him… didn't I?..."

He flinched upwards and stared at Zeref dead in the eyes, "G-get away from me! Go to the underworld where you belong!

Zeref sat motionless while the teenager ran off screaming. All he could think about were the teenager's eyes.

Full of fear. Full of distain.

Then he gulped and smiled, I _will make it._

 _I'll always have another chance. Another chance to prove them wrong._

But a chill suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

 _I feel like I'm being watched… And it's not the normal way I'm watched…_

That feeling kept his attention until he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

There was a shadow. A girl's shadow, with a petite figure and seemingly long, wavy hair.

His eyes got wide, _Who's that…?_ he gulped, _Am I seeing things?..._

Zeref now so distracted contemplating if what he saw was real, ran right into a door.

His house's door.

And again, he fell right onto the ground.

But instead of moaning loudly, Zeref managed to choke out something in between a giggle and a groan. _I don't know what I just hit, but I hope it's my house's door…._

A few seconds later, all his hopes were realized in the form of Natsu.

He jumped up and down on Zeref's stomach, "Zeref, you're finally home! You have no idea how long I've waited for you to come home!"

Zeref grunted, tried not to throw up, and smiled tiredly at his younger brother, expecting to see an excited smile when he looked on his face.

That "smile" was a frown, and his eyes were small and beady, full of tears.

"Our house is _haunted,_ Zeref!" he got on his knees and looked up in the sky, desperately, arms on the ground, "No one survives a haunting!"

Suddenly he shook Zeref hard and fell to the ground next to him, "We're gonna die! I don't want to die!"

Zeref breathed a small sigh as the weight of his brother left him, "Are you sure, Natsu? You told me this last week."

Natsu jumped up and coughed like he was betrayed, "Do you want me to prove it to you?! Look at my arm!"

Then Zeref noticed the long jacket Natsu was wearing, mid-spring.

A gulp went down his throat, _I'm not liking this…_

Natsu yanked the jacket off to reveal a red scaled right arm with clawed fingers.

Zeref screeched up into a sitting position, "What the _heck_ is that?!"

"My _arm!_ I _told_ you I have proof! We're going to die, aren't we?!"

Zeref left his brother hanging. He was too distraught to think properly. Natsu shook him again, "Come on, Zeref! You know more about this than I do! _Please_ tell me, please _I'm begging_ you!"

All Zeref was thinking about was the chances of them surviving the first couple weeks…. of a ghost attack…. _I managed to make it to the house but… How on earth are we going to make it through this?..._


End file.
